Shirreffs never wanted Zenyatta-Rachel Alexandra debate

A year ago, racing fans from East to West were begging for the the race of the century: Zenyatta against Rachel Alexandra. It would have been the equine version of Ali-Frazier or Lakers-Celtics.

Of course, the great race never came about and it will never will, now that Rachel has been retired and Zenyatta is ending her career at the Breeders’ Cup in a few weeks.

Rachel Alexandra

John Shirreffs, Zenyatta’s trainer,

Zenyatta

wouldn’t get into who he thought who would have come out the winner. He said he has too much respect for Rachel’s camp — trainer Steve Asmussen and owner Jess Jackson — for that.

If they would have run this year, Zenyatta would have won. No question. Rachel of this year was not the same horse of last year when she won all eight of her starts (beat colts three times) and was named Horse of the Year.

Shirreffs, of course, is a big fan of his big mare, but also had a soft spot for Rachel. He wasn’t a fan of the racing game last year when it was liking either Rachel or Zenyatta, but not both.

“I always thought the industry make a little mistake trying to put one against the other last year, especially with Rachel being a 3-year-old,” Shirreffs said by cellphone from California. “I thought it was a big mistake with these two great horses. It didn’t help racing.”

Rivarlies in sport are a healthy thing. Yankees-Red Sox. Ohio State-Michigan in college football. Duke-North Carolina in college hoop. Rachel and Zenyatta became a thoroughbred rivarly even though they never ran. The rivarly came not from the trainers or the owners but the fans who picked one or the other.

“We had a unique oppotunity with both of these horses being girls,” Shirreffs said. “All the women in the country were getting excited about them and then they make it like you are supposed to choose one or the other. I didn’t like it.”